


the things you want for no reason other than wanting them

by orphan_account



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Vague Canon Divergence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-03
Updated: 2019-04-03
Packaged: 2020-01-04 08:22:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18339824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Kurapika’s eyes glow, maroon shade of love. The candle burns down.





	the things you want for no reason other than wanting them

**Author's Note:**

> this was written for an art trade on twitter but i figured it was worth(?) uploading on here since it can double as a fic for kurapika's birthday I Don't Know how i feel about this but (waves my hands around) take it anyway
> 
> also since this was originally just For one person and is like an established one-shot the context for them living together instead of kurapika fucking off post yorknew is : i dont really know. i have no idea. it can be for whatever reason you want

 

Kurapika opens the door of their apartment to the smell of something burning.

 

His first reaction is - after kicking his shoes off - is to panic and beeline towards the source of the smell, which is the kitchen. The door is closed, which is rare - Leorio usually likes to leave it ajar. Kurapika knocks on the door and hears Leorio curse through the wood.

 

“Leorio?” he says. “Is everything okay in there?”   
  
“Just  _ fantastic _ !” Leorio shouts back. “Don’t come in!” 

 

Leorio saying this, of course, makes Kurapika want to do nothing more than kick the door down. He goes to push the handle down, but hesitates.

 

“Is everything okay?” he asks.

 

“Yeah!” Leorio almost-shouts back. “Honestly! I just can’t cook!” 

 

“Okay,” Kurapika leans his head on the cool wood, breathes out. He’s smiling. “If you need anything let me know.”   
  
“Alright!” he hears Leorio bellow back as he heads away from the kitchen and towards the couch. He throws his suit jacket off and over the back of the couch, takes his contacts out and puts them back in their case. Lays his head back to hit the back of the couch.

 

He’s  _ exhausted _ .

 

He has  _ so much  _ shit to do. He’s trying to help Melody track down any and all possible leads on the sonata. He owes her this much - she’s the reason he ever managed to find some of the eyes, after all. They’re locked away safe until he can go  _ home  _ and give them a proper burial, until he can face his family again. He wants to ask Leorio to come with him, wants to introduce him. He knows he’ll say yes. 

 

He still wants to take off in the middle of the night and run, sometimes. Gather his family up in his arms and vanish into the night, because it’s safer. He has nightmares about losing what he has, again - there are days where he feels like it’s inevitable. 

 

He hears Leorio swear in the kitchen again. He frowns down at his nails, red and chipped. He scans the room - it’s an open space, with no door connecting to where they eat, a small glass dining table set near the door to the kitchen - until he’s sure nothing is out of place and all the windows are bolted before he closes his eyes.

 

\--

 

Leorio shakes him awake gently. Kurapika checks the clock on the wall - it’s only been half an hour.

 

“Sorry,” he mumbles, sleepy. Leorio smiles at him. 

 

“Come eat,” he says. The smell of burning food still lingers, but Kurapika notices some of the windows are now open, so it’s not as strong as it was. He lets Leorio lead him by the hand to the dining table.

 

“Dinner is served,” Leorio says with a flourish as he pulls Kurapika’s chair out for him. He stifles a laugh behind his hand.

 

“It’s macaroni,” he says.

 

“Yeah,” Leorio scratches the stubble on his chin as he sits across from Kurapika, eyes on his own plate. “Well, you know. I’m still learning.”   
  
“It’s nice that you cook,” Kurapika tells him. And it  _ is  _ \- it’s just not always particularly edible, although with both of their work hours being all over the place, sometimes not particularly edible translates into gourmet when you haven’t had anything but shitty ramen all day. And Kurapika appreciates the effort. 

 

It’s not bad - it’s definitely store bought, and is slightly too cheesy for Kurapika’s liking, but it sits above the tier of slightly edible at being entirely edible. Leorio talks to him about his day - he’d had a rare day off for once.

 

“How’s that thing with Melody going?” he asks with his mouth full. “The sonata?” Kurapika sighs softly.

 

“It’s...going somewhere,” he says, careful with what he chooses to divulge. He trusts Leorio, would let him pluck his heart from his chest, but this is Melody’s business and they haven’t found anything solid yet. There’s a lead from somewhere within the NGL that they’re tracking, but something is going down in that area right now, so it’s making communication difficult and inconsistent. Kurapika has yet to look into it. 

 

“We have a lead, but,” he continues. “The communication has been spotty at best. There’s not really much else to go on, unfortunately.” 

 

“Hah,” Leorio sighs out. “Weird. It’s like this thing doesn’t exist.”   
  
“It _ shouldn’t _ ,” Kurapika points out, unconsciously pointing his fork at Leorio. “That’s the thing. Something that dangerous? Melody isn’t even sure how it came to exist in the first place.” Leorio scratches his stubble again - he hasn’t shaved in a few days. Kurapika will never admit to finding it endearing. 

 

“Well, tell her good luck from me I guess,” he says. “It’s a weird one.”    
  
“I have to agree,” Kurapika pushes his chair back to collect their plates, walks through to the kitchen to put them in the sink. He’ll clean them later. He’s too tired. 

 

“Come sit with me?” Leorio asks from through the house, already migrated to the couch.

 

“In a minute,” Kurapika answers him, pouring himself a glass of water before heading back through. Leorio opens his arms to him and Kurapika sinks into them gently, head against his chest.

 

“Hey,” Leorio says, grinning.   
  
“Hi,” Kurapika says back. He feels dumb. “Do you want to watch something?”   
  
“Eh,” Leorio fumbles for the remote, which he is sitting on for some reason. “Might as well. Background noise.” He puts on some shity soap opera he is more invested in than he’ll ever admit, turns the volume down. He presses his nose into Kurapika’s hair and closes his eyes.

 

“Sorry we didn’t do anything today,” he mumbles into his hair. “I wanted to cook you something, at least, but I think you could tell that shit was store bought.”   
  
“I could,” Kurapika mumbles back, eyes closed. “I appreciate it. Is there something special about today?” Leorio groans so loudly that Kurapika moves away from him, blinking.

 

“You  _ forgot _ ?” Leorio asks, incredulously. “It’s your birthday!” Kurapika’s eyes dart to the calendar on the wall. It has pictures of baby animals on it. It is, in fact, the fourth.

 

“Oops,” he says. Leorio pulls him back down to hold him against his body, gently ruffles his hair.

 

“Oops!” he parrots back. “Oops! I can’t believe you forgot your own birthday! I thought you just hadn’t mentioned it ‘cause you’re tired, or whatever! Or as part of some weird pride thing! Or some ploy to get me to forget too so you can make me buy you those chocolates you like later in the week!”   
  
“I’ve been busy,” Kurapika tries to justify. “It’s not exactly been the first thing on my mind.” 

 

“It’s not been on your mind at  _ all _ ,” Leorio squawks. “I can’t believe this.”

 

“It’s not a big deal!” Kurapika insists, presses his face into the crook of Leorio’s neck. “We were never really that big on celebrating them.”   
  
“Oh,” Leorio says dumbly. Kurapika is rare to divulge any details about what his life used to be like. “Did you do anything in particular?”   
  
“We’d light a candle that you’d make yourself,” Kurapika says. “It took weeks. My last birthday with my family, my candle was so misshapen and poorly done we couldn’t get it to light properly, so my mother just set a bundle of sticks on fire for me instead. And then you’d reflect on the year and blow the candle out, and give thanks for the things you’d been through that year, ready for the next. It’s not too dissimilar to blowing out candles on a birthday cake, I suppose. We just didn’t make a wish.”    
  
“Do you wanna?” Leorio asks. “Do that? I mean, I don’t think we have time to  _ make  _ a candle, but…” he trails off. “I have some spare, if you’d like.”

 

“That sounds nice,” Kurapika smiles shakily into his neck and tries not to complain when Leorio has to let go of him to go and retrieve the candles from wherever it is he keeps them. He comes back a few minutes later, four separate candles cradled in his hands. He puts them down on the couch in front of Kurapika.

 

“Choose one, I guess,” Leorio tells him. Kurapika picks up a long candle, slightly misshapen - it looks closest to the one he had formed with his own hands, all those years ago. Leorio places it in a candle holder and walks over to their dinner table to set it flat.

 

“Do we have matches?” Leorio asks.

 

“In the top drawer,” Kurapika answers as he sits at the table. Leorio fetches them for him and places them down in front of him, sitting across from him. Kurapika lights the match in one quick stroke, and the candle begins to burn down. 

 

“When do you blow it out?” Leorio asks.

 

“Whenever you’re done giving thanks,” Kurapika answers him. “So let me.” He shuts his eyes, calms his breathing. Settles himself in his body and just lets himself be. He thinks about his family, old and new. He hopes Gon and Killua are alright.

 

“I want you to meet them,” he blurts out before he can stop himself, eyes still closed. “My parents. My family.”   
  
“Okay,” Leorio says, doesn’t question it. “If you want me to.” Kurapika opens his eyes, finds Leorio’s gaze already fixed on his. He slowly moves his hand across the table to squeeze Kurapika’s. 

 

“I would,” Kurapika pretends he isn’t trembling. The windows are open, he rationalises. It’s cold. “They’d have liked you. They will like you. Once I find the last of them, we can…” he trails off. Leorio squeezes his hand. The candle continues to melt.

 

“I’ll be here,” Leorio says. “Whenever you want me. I’ll still be here when you get back. Whenever you’re ready.”

 

Kurapika’s eyes glow, maroon shade of love. The candle burns down. He doesn’t blow it out.


End file.
